Of course he isn't, he tore his ACL (or MCL or both, I don't know) and his game is all about quickness. One reason I'm not too worried is Edelman, I really like that kid. He'll fill Welkers shoes nicely if Welker's not effective, which I'm not expecting.

did I say that?im stateing what he said,and im saying the pats need him at 100 percent,and im adding players will need to step up.Posted by mosseffectredux

Don't think they need him at 100 percent. He seems good at wherever he is now. Teams will have to deal with the fact we have multiple threats at receiver, no matter who is in anymore. He can do his thing this year with much less harassment than he got last year.

Well, yes and no. Is Welker important to the team? Yes. Is the team better with him at 100%? Of course.

Obviously, last years team relied on both Welker and Moss because there were limited options for the passing game. Edelman obviously made an impact last year, but was often injured. Faulk obviously helped, but opponents know that he's likely blocking for Brady or involved in a screen play. With limited options, patriots became predictable.

However, this year's passing options are a little bit different. We've invested in 3 TEs with what appears to be HUGE upside potential. If the Patriots go back to basics and actually incorporate the TEs back into the passing game (apart from mere blocking duties) - it opens Brady's options AND may help the running game as well. It's up to O'Brien to find some creativity, mix things up to keep opponents off balance. If he is successful in doing so, then we become less reliant on Welker to move the chains.

In Response to Re: welker is saying he dosent feel the same. : Me too, the guy will still catch 90 passes and remove some of the pressure the new weapons will face this year and who knows maybe he improves as the season moves on.Posted by mthurl

just him being there is the leadership we need, players see him working hard and they should be inspired to work just as hard.